# 短い
## Japanese
### Etymology 1

* Kanji in this term
* 短
* みじか Grade: 3
* kun'yomi
* Alternative spelling
* 短かい (less common, possibly proscribed)
⟨mi$_1$zikasi⟩ → /mizikasi/ → /mid͡ʑikaɕi/ → /mid͡ʑikaki/ → /mid͡ʑikai/
From Old Japanese. Cited in the Man'yōshū, dated to roughly 759 CE.
Appears to be derived as a compound, but the constituent parts remain obscure. The stem form mijika is also found in compounds, and in the now-obsolete adjective forms 短やか (mijikayaka) and 短らか (mijikaraka), indicating that the ‑ka in mijika is not the adjectivizing suffix か (‑ka) (as in 静か shizuka), and is instead part of the root term.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) みじかい [mìjíkáꜜì] (Nakadaka –)
* IPA: [mʲiʑika̠i]
* Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「短い」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Continuative (連用形) | 短く | みじかく みじかく | [mìjíꜜkàkù] [mìjíkáꜜkù] |
| Terminal (終止形) | 短い | みじかい | [mìjíkáꜜì] |
| Attributive (連体形) | 短い | みじかい | [mìjíkáꜜì] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 短くない | みじかくない みじかくない | [mìjíꜜkàkùnàì] [mìjíkáꜜkùnàì] |
| Informal past | 短かった | みじかかった みじかかった | [mìjíꜜkàkàttà] [mìjíkáꜜkàttà] |
| Informal negative past | 短くなかった | みじかくなかった みじかくなかった | [mìjíꜜkàkùnàkàttà] [mìjíkáꜜkùnàkàttà] |
| Formal | 短いです | みじかいです | [mìjíkáꜜìdèsù] |
| Conjunctive | 短くて | みじかくて みじかくて | [mìjíꜜkàkùtè] [mìjíkáꜜkùtè] |
| Conditional | 短ければ | みじかければ みじかければ | [mìjíꜜkàkèrèbà] [mìjíkáꜜkèrèbà] |

#### Adjective

短(みじか)い • (mijikai) -i (adverbial 短(みじか)く (mijikaku))
* short, brief
    Synonym: (Kagoshima) みひけ (mihike)
* [from 759] short, brief (in time)
* [from 974] short (in space, from one point to another)
* [date uncertain] short, brief (in length, such as a text or speech)
* [mid 900s–late 1500s] (archaic) short (in height)
    Mostly superseded in modern usage by 低い (hikui, “short”, in height).
* [from 858] common, not part of the aristocracy
* [from 905] short on intelligence or maturity: dimwitted, dull; shallow, superficial
    Synonyms: 鈍い (nibui, “dim, dull”), 浅薄 (senpaku, “shallow, superficial”)
* [from early 900s] short of attention: fickle, shallow-hearted, flighty
    Synonyms: 薄情 (hakujō, “shallow-hearted, fickle, unfeeling”), 変わりやすい (kawariyasui, “fickle, changeable, unsettled”)
* [from early 1600s] short-tempered, impatient, impetuous
    Synonyms: せっかち (sekkachi, “hasty, impetuous”), 短気 (tanki, “quick-tempered, impatient”)

##### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | 短かろ | みじかかろ | mijikakaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | 短く | みじかく | mijikaku |
| Terminal (終止形) | 短い | みじかい | mijikai |
| Attributive (連体形) | 短い | みじかい | mijikai |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | 短けれ | みじかけれ | mijikakere |
| Imperative (命令形) | 短かれ | みじかかれ | mijikakare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 短くない | みじかくない | mijikaku nai |
| Informal past | 短かった | みじかかった | mijikakatta |
| Informal negative past | 短くなかった | みじかくなかった | mijikaku nakatta |
| Formal | 短いです | みじかいです | mijikai desu |
| Formal negative | 短くないです | みじかくないです | mijikaku nai desu |
| Formal past | 短かったです | みじかかったです | mijikakatta desu |
| Formal negative past | 短くなかったです | みじかくなかったです | mijikaku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | 短くて | みじかくて | mijikakute |
| Conditional | 短ければ | みじかければ | mijikakereba |
| Provisional | 短かったら | みじかかったら | mijikakattara |
| Volitional | 短かろう | みじかかろう | mijikakarō |
| Adverbial | 短く | みじかく | mijikaku |
| Degree | 短さ | みじかさ | mijikasa |

##### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “short”): 長(なが)い (nagai): long

##### Derived terms

* 気(き)が短(みじか)い (ki ga mijikai): quick-tempered, impatient
* 気(き)の短(みじか)い (ki no mijikai): quick-tempered, impatient
* 手短(てみじか) (te mijika): brief, concise

### Etymology 2

* Kanji in this term
* 短
* みじか > みちか Grade: 3
* irregular
Shift from standard Japanese mijikai.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [mʲit͡ɕika̠i]

#### Adjective

短(みちか)い • (michikai) -i (adverbial 短(みちか)く (michikaku))
* (Ibaraki dialect) short, brief

### References

* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 15, poem 3744:, text available online here
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

### Further reading

* Ibaraki dialect entry at Nihon Jiten (in Japanese)